the definitive archive of Colorado's 41st Governor

Monthly Archives: March 2014

The group of citizens that advises the Regional Transportation District (RTD) Board of Directors about the FasTracks transit expansion program is welcoming three new members this week, including a construction industry manager, a retired health care worker and a financial adviser for a local startup.

The new members of the FasTracks Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) are Darcy Wilson, president of Stan-Mar Inc., a construction company, who will represent RTD District B; Vivian Stovall, a retired Denver Health Medical Center employee, who will represent RTD District C; and Tyler Kealy, a client service and fund accountant for Public Trust Advisors, who will represent District A. The RTD board approved their appointments Dec. 17.

“We are excited to welcome our new members, who bring a depth of experience that will enrich the work we do,” said CAC Co-Chair David Lewis. “As we prepare for the exciting milestones that lie ahead in 2014, we’re confident they will provide us with unique perspectives that will help guide the success of all of the FasTracks projects.”

Karen Stuart, former mayor of the City and County of Broomfield, and Bob Rizzuto, co-owner and a broker associate with KW Commercial Real Estate, have been reappointed to the committee. Departing the CAC because of term limitations are Tom Burns, Tom Ashburn and Don Moore, who all served from 2006 through the end of this year.

All of the committee’s new members have had considerable community service experience in the Denver metro region and around Colorado.

Among other nonprofit organizations, Wilson has volunteered with the Denver Scholarship Foundation and served on Stapleton’s workforce redevelopment committee. She holds a master’s degree in computer information science from the University of Denver.

For her part, Stovall was a member of Gov. Bill Ritter’s Transportation Finance and Implementation Blue Ribbon Panel, which issued recommendations on how to address Colorado’s transportation needs. She is a member of the Denver Election Division Advisory Committee, the Denver Regional Council of Government (DRCOG) Aging Advisory Committee, the Denver Commission on Aging and the Colorado Alliance for Retired Americans. She is also a recent graduate of the Denver Transit Alliance Academy, a coalition of businesses, government agencies and membership groups that promotes transit.

Kealy graduated magna cum laude from the University of Denver in 2011, earning two bachelor’s degrees in finance from the Daniels College of Business. He was a budget analyst intern at RTD, where he helped overhaul the District’s annual budget report. Kealy is a self-described “transit-dependent young adult” who commutes regularly by bus and light rail.

“Both Ways Bob” Beauprez announced his campaign for governor of Colorado. For weeks, Beauprez has been lurking on the sidelines, trying to decide whether to enter the gubernatorial or U.S. Senate race.

Beauprez is right about one thing: the field of Republicans in the Colorado gubernatorial race are hopelessly unqualified. What Beauprez doesn’t understand, of course, is that he is no better. Bob Beauprez was a joke in 2006, and as he proved by launching his campaign for governor of Colorado from Washington, D.C., he’s a joke today.

Bob Beauprez’s last political campaign resulted in a devastating 17-point loss to Democrat Bill Ritter in the 2006 gubernatorial election, in which Beauprez was plagued by scandals over abortion, immigration, and his past record in Congress. Beauprez falsely claimed on the campaign trail that 70% of African-American pregnancies “end in abortion,” for which he was later forced to apologize. Misleading attack ads about illegal immigration led to a criminal investigation of Beauprez’s campaign for accessing restricted law enforcement databases. We at ProgressNow Colorado were heavily involved in the campaign to hold Beauprez accountable.

Since his last defeat, Beauprez has continued to embarrass himself. Just yesterday, a video of Beauprez surfaced actually claiming that President Obama is “pushing” the nation toward civil war. Is that insanity the kind of leadership Colorado needs?

Beauprez is a shining example of everything Republicans in Colorado have gotten wrong in recent years, and to see him run again is more evidence that conservatives have learned nothing from their defeats. Thanks for standing up to hold Beauprez accountable–as many times as it takes.

Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet will host a forum on immigration, trade, and security in partnership with the Counterterrorism Education Learning Lab (CELL).

Featured panelists include former U.S. Representative David Dreier (R-CA), Consul General of Canada Marcy Grossman, and Chairwoman of the Center for Equal Opportunity Linda Chavez. Former Colorado Governor Bill Ritter will moderate.

More than 700 are expected to attend the discussion, which will cover, among other things, U.S. immigration policy and the prospects for passing a comprehensive immigration reform bill in 2014. As part of the Senate’s “Gang of 8,” Bennet helped write a bipartisan bill to fix the broken immigration system that passed the Senate last June.

WHO: U.S. Senator Michael Bennet

Former Colorado Governor Bill Ritter

U.S. Representative David Dreier (R-CA)

Consul General of Canada Marcy Grossman

Chairwoman of the Center for Equal Opportunity Linda Chavez

WHAT: The Cross Border Debate: Immigration, Trade, and Security

WHERE: The Denver Art Museum (North Building)

100 W. 14th Avenue, Denver, CO 80204

WHEN: Tuesday, February 18 at 7:00PM MT

RSVP: Media credentials are REQUIRED for admittance. RSVP to lalshihabi@thecell.org or 608-446-3881 by end of day on February 17, 2014. Media registration table will be set-up beginning at 5:30PM MT.

SPONSORS: The Denver Post, the Counterterrorism Education Learning Lab (CELL), and the Government of Canada

About the CELL: The Counterterrorism Education Learning Lab (CELL) is dedicated to preventing terrorism through education, empowerment, and engagement. As a nonprofit, nonpartisan institution, its one-of-a-kind exhibit, renowned speaker series, and training initiatives provide a comprehensive look at the threat of terrorism and how individuals can play a role in preventing it, ultimately enhancing public safety.